Overview

• FBS teams are averaging 3.8 punts per game this season, a pace that would be the lowest since NCAA tracking began in 1937.
• Punt attempts have declined for eight consecutive seasons, sliding to 4.1 per game in 2024 from higher mid-2010s levels.
• The NFL shows a similar pattern with 3.6 punts per game, the lowest recorded in league history.
• Longer kicks are influencing decisions, with six FBS field goals of 60-plus yards last season and 50–59-yard attempts tracking toward last year’s record total.
• Nebraska’s use of freshman punter Archie Wilson — unused for two games before punting four times against Michigan — highlights how specialists are seeing fewer opportunities.